Is Space Exploration Worth It?

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Yeah but everyone knows that all of the real aliens (not the Hollywood kind) have freckles.
 
-DEADLY SUSHI- said:
Well I saw that some moon has water. Great. More wasted tax dollars. Couple billion to find water on a round rock in space. Some schools dont have enough money for an arts class. Some counties dont have enough money to help the sick and poor. But hey..... thats alright. Because we found water on a rock. :glare:
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Actually it was Saturn. The temp is -300 degrees and yet there is water in a warm spring. I find that to be rather odd but promising ( science which works for kids in the classroom). Education is key, whether it be science, math, etc.
 
Actually it was a MOON of Saturn called Enceladus. There is water under the surface. It acts like a geyser. When the water goes through the blow-hole it turns into crystals. Yippie. 3.5 billion well spent. We just came closer to curing an illness. Oh...... wait........ we didnt. (amber Im not trying to act like a jerk. Im trying to be somewhat entertaining while getting my point across. :) )
 
But DS how do you know that that will not get us closer to curing an illness or something. Every discovery opens doors and understanding and this liquid water is a MAJOR discovery.
 
GB said:
But DS how do you know that that will not get us closer to curing an illness or something. Every discovery opens doors and understanding and this liquid water is a MAJOR discovery.
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It's this speculative nature of the exploration that works against the 'gains from space travel' argument. It's not a directed exploration like the historical examples cited earlier.

Also, while some discoveries can be attributed to the space program, you cannot conclude these things would not have been invented sooner or later regardless. Also, consider that, if space exploration money had been spent differently, other great inventions may have resulted.

This is a subject I wrestle with. I realize that, looking at the "Big Picture", space exploration is important to the development of mankind. However, I often look a lot closer to home and think how much good that kind of money would do right now, close to home, for a lot of people.

The 'space race' was brought to the forefront of the national consciousness as a political issue. The Soviets were beating us! It became a component of the cold war along with the Olympics and the arms race.

Every group of scientists wants money and priority for their research. Whether it's for disease, space, oceanic, volcanic, climatic, etc. research. They can all justify their needs and they are probably all right. We have to find a better way to prioritize our expenditures.

So I guess I'm coming down, not on either DS's or GB's sides, but squarly in the middle.
 
Andy Im with you 110%. Discover what we have here 1st. Its the least expensive exploration. After we have exhausted the earth for discoveries, then lets goto space. By THEN our technology will be much more efficent to explore space properly. I would like to envision in 50-100 years something that looks like Star Trek. (for those of you that dont get into Trek it would take FAR to long to explain the scientific capabilities) Did I mention I can t spell for the life of me?
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Anyhow, we currently have exellent tech. to truely explore what is in the waters of this planet. TONS of life out there, unexplored. Lets DO it. After we understand and possibly populate the oceans..... lets goto space. Money-wise it makes sense. Logicaly it makes sense. Yes..... I AM Spock. And Spock loves SUSHI!!!! :D
 
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DS I am not sure where you get the idea that it would be less expensive to explore the deep ocean.
 
I think that exploration shouldn't be our biggest priority. (in space OR on earth) I think we need to invest in a plan to help preserve and protect what we already know exists. The fact that between 40-100 species of flora and fauna go EXTINCT every single day is very disturbing and sad to me...

We need to protect and conserve what was already have before we do anything else.

But this is my opinion and some people may think that other issues need priority status...
 
grumblebee said:
I think that exploration shouldn't be our biggest priority. (in space OR on earth) I think we need to invest in a plan to help preserve and protect what we already know exists. The fact that between 40-100 species of flora and fauna go EXTINCT every single day is very disturbing and sad to me...

We need to protect and conserve what was already have before we do anything else.

But this is my opinion and some people may think that other issues need priority status...
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I like what you have stated here... seems like where we go to explore, we somehow manage to destroy or make a mess of it. We are often times our own worst enemy.
 
the greatest threat to humankind and all living things on this planet, as has happened before (just ask the dinosaurs) is a large asteroid colliding into the earth. if we don't start looking upwards and outwards, and start to come up with a plan to prevent it, we're doomed. it might not be until your great great grandchildren's lifetime, or it could happen next year. either way, we need to become proficient at space exploration to be able to protect ourselves.

i say we send ds up looking for red headed space monsters...
 
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